Over 35,000 carats of small to medium size diamonds.
Viewing by appointment only.
Contact: auctions@diamonds.net +1-212-354-9800

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
[Record gold has] all been driven by investor interest, and investors are minor sellers today. Gold looks tired up here. The question is how low will it go.

Leonard Kaplan | Prospector Asset Management

Careers@Rapaport

The Rapaport Group is growing rapidly. If you want to work with the best and brightest, join us. We have great opportunities for trading managers, gemologists, sales assistants, and entry level positions for our offices in New York, Antwerp, Mumbai, Dubai, and Shanghai. To get on the fast track, email your resume to careers@rapaport.com.

WATCH NOW: Diamond trading firms Ankit Gems and Akshar Impex explain what sizes and makes were hot at JCK. Lazare Kaplan tells the story behind the Twist and the Simply Global collections. Designer Ellen Himic shows what was hot with buyers. See what silver jewelry from Christofle Paris sold well. Finesse Diamonds found strong demand for the Eighty-Eight diamond cut and Gregg Ruth debuts the Aztec collection.

Stars of Africa Feature Video

WATCH NOW: The Asschers send the message of ethics, education and hope for Africa with designer Reena Ahluwalia and the Stars of Africa by Royal Asscher® collection. The Asscher family and Ahluwalia worked together to create five new pieces of jewelry that were modeled during the JCK fashion show by Flaviana Matata.

U.S. chain-store sales rose 3 percent for the week that ended on June 5, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs, as warmer weather led to a spur in spending. On a week-to-week basis, sales improved by just 0.8 percent. ICSC expects sales to rise by between 3 percent to 4 percent year on year in June due to easy comparisons against 2009, as well as the warm weather lift.

Michael Hill to Close Eight U.S. Stores

Michael Hill International is planning to close eight stores in the U.S. in an effort to make its operations there profitable. The New Zealand-based company marked its entrance into the U.S. market when it bought 17 stores in Illinois and Missouri from the bankrupt Whitehall Jewelers in July 2008. The company expects to incur operating losses in the U.S. of around $6 million for the fiscal year that ends on June 30, 2010, excluding $1.8 million in costs related to the closures. Michael Hill intends to open 15 stores across Canada, Australia and New Zealand this year.

TD Retail Card Services to Cover Zale in Canada

Zale Corporation selected TD Retail Card Services to administer the private-label credit card program for the retailer’s 216 stores in Canada come July 1. Under the five-year agreement, the Mahwah, New Jersey-based business unit of TD Retail Card Services will direct all facets of the private-label credit card program for Zale’s 147 Peoples Jewellers stores and its 69 Mappins Jewellers locations across Canada.

Renaissance Jewellery's Sales -79% in 4Q

Renaissance Jewellery Limited reported that its sales fell 79 percent year over year to $14.4 million in the fourth fiscal quarter that ended on March 31. The company also reported that its net profits dropped 71 percent year on year to $651,272 after its expenses declined by 79 percent to $13.2 million. For the full financial year, Renaissance Jewellery's sales fell 29 percent to $106.6 million. The company's net profits rose 15 percent to $5.5 million as its expenses dropped 31 percent to $99.1 million.

Christie's Jewels Sale Nets Almost $7M

Christie's Jewels: The London Sale realized $6.6 million and was 79 percent sold by lot. The top lot was a 14.85-carat, rectangular-cut D, VS1 diamond ring by Bulgari, which sold for almost $1.1 million, or $73,800 per carat. A 7.07-carat, E, VS2 diamond ring by Cartier sold for $487,326 and a pair of heart-shaped, diamond ear studs by Boucheron sold for $331,266.

GENERAL

MJSA, GE Money Offer Consumer Finance Program

The Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America (MJSA) and GE Money will partner to provide consumer financing. GE Money's Luxury Card program, a revolving credit card, can now be offered to MJSA retail members nationwide. GE Money contended that customers with branded credit cards buy more than they would with traditional bank credit cards. GE Money will also provide MJSA members with tools that help incorporate this type of financing into sales and marketing initiatives. GE Money's Luxury Card provides consumers with attractive credit promotions that simplify payments for jewelry purchases.

Wolfgang Gross Passes Away

The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) mourned the death of Wolfgang Gross, the honorary president of the Diamantklub Wien, the Diamond Club of Vienna, and an honorary delegate to the WFDB. Gross, who passed away in late May, just short of his 93rd birthday in Vienna, Austria, became a member of the club in 1957 and served as Vienna's bourse president from 1972 to 1996, completing an uninterrupted, 25-year term of service. He was consequently appointed the honorary president of the club. Wilfried Haass, the incumbent president of the Diamantclub Wien, said Gross had been an old-school diamantaire whose ethics and morals were beyond reproach.

RJC Picks First Accredited Auditor

The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) chose STR Responsible Sourcing as its first accredited auditor, tasked with verifying that RJC members’ business practices comply with the council's standards. STR Responsible Sourcing works with more than 6,000 manufacturers, importers, raw materials suppliers and retailers worldwide to assess the quality, safety and social standards of their products and systems. Accredited auditors enable RJC members who have carried out self assessments against the RJC system to commission their certification audits. A list of RJC's accredited auditors will soon be available to members on the council's website.

STATS

Botswana's Diamond Exports +36% in April

Botswana’s polished and rough diamond exports rose 36 percent to $233.6 million for the month of April, according to data collected by the Bank of Botswana. First-quarter diamond exports grew 101 percent to $476.9 million, but remained well below the average export levels recorded in the same periods of previous years, for instance, Botswana’s diamond exports were valued at $924.4 million in the first quarter of 2008.

MINING

IGE Diamond Sale Garners $500K

IGE Resources reported sales of approximately $500,000 for diamonds from its Cassanguidi mine in Angola. The Swedish company sold 2,760 carats of rough diamonds this week for an average price of $181.60 per carat, compared to the per-carat average of $162 it achieved at its first sale in April. The June average also exceeded IGE's target price of $180 per carat for the Cassanguidi diamonds. The Cassanguidi mine is the first of three mines that IGE expects to bring into operation by early 2011. The company is ramping up production at Cassanguidi to raise its output to 5,000 carats a day by the third quarter.

Shore Gold Updates Star Diamond Project

Shore Gold reported that its Star underground project in Canada contains diamonds in the league of the Letseng mine in Lesotho. George Read, Shore’s vice president of exploration and development said that 26 percent of all diamonds larger than 2.7 carats from a Star bulk sample are Type IIa diamonds. A recent study on plus 2.7 carat diamonds from Star shows that the project has a similar proportion of Type IIa diamonds to Letseng, and that many Type IIa stones tend to be in larger sizes. A sample evaluation of Star diamonds shows that it contains both top white octahedral diamonds (Type Ia) and a significant proportion of Type IIa diamonds, some of which are top white in color.

In a separate report, a revaluation of diamond parcels from Shore Gold’s Star and Orion South kimberlites showed price increases of 11 percent to 19 percent from previous valuations made in March 2008. Modeled prices now range between $116 and $344 per carat.

ECONWATCH

For the week ending June 10, 2010:

June.10

June.3

Chng.

$1 = Euro

0.825

0.823

0.002

$1 = Rupee

46.64

46.74

-0.1

$1 = Israel Shekel

3.86

3.84

0.02

$1 = Rand

7.70

7.69

0.01

$1 = Canadian Dollar

1.03

1.04

-0.01

Precious Metals

Gold

$1,217.70

$1,205.50

$12.20

Platinum

$1,534.00

$1,543.00

-$9.00

Stock Indexes

Chng.

BSE

16,922.08

17,022.33

-100.25

-0.6%

Dow Jones

10,172.53

10,255.28

-82.75

-0.8%

FTSE

5,132.50

5,211.18

-78.68

-1.5%

Hang Seng

19,632.70

19,786.71

-154.01

-0.8%

S&P 500

1,086.84

1,102.83

-15.99

-1.4%

Yahoo! Jewelry

871.34

890.92

-19.58

-2.2%

USA

Birks & Mayors

$1.25

$1.45

-$0.20

-13.8%

Blue Nile

$51.80

$48.20

$3.60

7.5%

Charles & Colvard

$2.67

$3.04

-$0.37

-12.2%

DGSE Companies

$2.84

$2.77

$0.07

2.5%

Fuqi Intl.

$8.63

$9.05

-$0.42

-4.6%

JCPenney

$26.27

$27.07

-$0.80

-3.0%

Kohl's

$51.29

$52.10

-$0.81

-1.6%

LJ Intl.

$2.80

$2.95

-$0.15

-5.1%

Macy's

$21.33

$22.49

-$1.16

-5.2%

Man Sang

$1.89

$2.05

-$0.16

-7.8%

Movado Group

$11.76

$12.23

-$0.47

-3.8%

Nordstrom

$37.79

$38.52

-$0.73

-1.9%

Saks

$8.54

$9.14

-$0.60

-6.6%

Signet

$30.80

$31.56

-$0.76

-2.4%

Sotheby's

$31.31

$32.45

-$1.14

-3.5%

Tiffany

$43.64

$44.49

-$0.85

-1.9%

Walmart

$51.72

$51.72

$0.00

0.0%

Zale

$2.30

$2.55

-$0.25

-9.8%

EUROPE

Bulgari

€6.38

€6.27

€0.11

1.8%

Bijou Brigitte

€120.50

€116.80

€3.70

3.2%

Damiani

€0.82

€0.84

-€0.02

-2.4%

LVMH

€91.32

€89.09

€2.23

2.5%

PPR

€101.80

€100.25

€1.55

1.5%

Richemont

CHF 41.93

CHF 39.74

CHF 2.19

5.5%

Swatch Group

CHF 321.10

CHF 313.50

CHF 7.60

2.4%

Theo Fennell (pence)

34.00

32.00

2.00

6.3%

INDIA (rupee)

Classic Diamond

19.25

19.55

-0.30

-1.5%

Gitanjali Gems

121.85

115.05

6.80

5.9%

Goldiam Intl.

45.00

45.00

0.00

0.0%

Rajesh Exports

76.95

90.05

-13.10

-14.5%

Ren. Jewellery

81.80

85.45

-3.65

-4.3%

Su-Raj Diamonds

48.55

49.75

-1.20

-2.4%

Titan

2,230.20

2,214.35

15.85

0.7%

Zodiac JRD

26.45

28.10

-1.65

-5.9%

Suashish Diamonds

178.50

173.00

5.50

3.2%

NEW ZEALAND

Michael Hill

NZD 0.66

NZD 0.70

-NZD 0.04

-5.7%

MINING STOCKS

CANADA

Harry Winston

CAD 13.71

CAD 13.50

CAD 0.21

1.6%

Lucara Diamond

CAD 0.80

CAD 0.87

-CAD 0.07

-8.0%

Mountain Province

CAD 2.46

CAD 2.36

CAD 0.10

4.2%

Peregrine Diamonds

CAD 2.01

CAD 2.05

-CAD 0.04

-2.0%

Rockwell Diamonds

CAD 0.06

CAD 0.07

-CAD 0.01

-14.3%

Shore Gold

CAD 0.78

CAD 0.77

CAD 0.01

1.3%

Stornoway Diamond

CAD 0.52

CAD 0.52

CAD 0.00

0.0%

True North Gems

CAD 0.08

CAD 0.08

CAD 0.00

0.0%

UK (pence)

African Diamonds

33.00

31.55

1.5

4.6%

Anglo American

2,621.50

2,605.00

16.5

0.6%

BHP Billiton

1,875.50

1,839.00

36.5

2.0%

Firestone Diamonds

35.75

37.50

-1.8

-4.7%

Gem Diamonds

237.90

230.50

7.4

3.2%

Gemfields

4.75

4.78

0.0

-0.6%

Mwana Africa

8.00

9.30

-1.3

-14.0%

Namakwa Diamonds

46.75

40.25

6.5

16.1%

Petra Diamonds

67.75

68.50

-0.8

-1.1%

Rio Tinto plc

3,251.70

3,171.00

80.7

2.5%

Stellar Diamonds

12.75

13.50

-0.8

-5.6%

INDIA MARKET REPORT

Polished and rough trading activity

Polished: Market trading resumed following summer vacation. Following the Vegas show, there are very few overseas buyers in the local polished market.

Round

-1 point:

Good demand: $250-$350 whites.

Fair demand: $150-$200 whites; $250-$350 TTLC.

-2 point:

Good demand: $250-$350 whites.

Fair demand: $150-$225 & +$400 whites; $300-$350 TTLC.

2-7 point:

Good demand: +$300 whites.

Fair demand: $300-$400 TTLC.

8-18 point:

Good demand: +$400 whites.

Fair demand: $350-$450 TTLC.

20 points:

Fair demand: +$600 whites.

25 points:

Fair demand: +$700 whites.

33 points:

Fair demand: +$900 whites.

50 points:

Good demand: $1000-$1500 & +$2000 whites.

75 points:

Good demand: +$2000 whites.

1 carat+:

Very good demand: +$2000 whites.

Princess

-3 point:

Good demand: $300-330 whites.

+3 point:

Good demand: $350-$400 whites.

+9-18 point:

Good demand: +14 pts $550-$600 whites.

20 point:

Fair demand: $700-$750 whites.

25 point:

Fair demand: $800-$850 whites.

50 point:

Good demand: $1600-$1,800 whites.

75 point:

Fair demand: $1,000-$1,200 whites.

1 carat+:

Good demand: +$1,500 whites.

Marquise

-6 point:

Good demand: $400-$500 whites.

Fair demand: $250-$350 whites.

+7-18 point:

Good demand: $600-$700 & +14 pts $800-$850 whites.

Fair demand: $250-$400 whites.

20 point:

Fair demand: $900-$1,000 whites.

25 point:

Fair demand: $1,100-$1,200 whites.

33 point:

Fair demand: $1,300-$1,500 whites.

50 point:

Fair demand: $1,600-$1,800 & $600-$700 whites.

75 point:

Fair demand: $1,100-$1,400 & $2,600-$2,800 whites.

1 carat+:

Good demand: $300-$600 & +$1,200 whites.

Tapers & Baguettes

Fair demand: $600-$800 +5mm whites. $250-$325

2mm-2.5mm whites; $350-$400, 2.5mm-3mm whites;

$400-$450 3mm-4mm, $500-$600 4mm –

5mm & $175-$250 +2mm-3mm whites.

ROUGH: There are rumors of high demand for DTC sight goods against low supplies in the local market. Fluctuating dollar against rupee is affecting the activities in the local rough market.